“They say,” observed Mr. Jenkins, “they’ve took the old man up.”

“I’m sorry for that,” cried Tom.  “To go to take up a kind o’ half-crazy man for speaking in meetin’!”

“Why,” inquired the squire, “would you allow the man to go about disturbing the neighbors as he pleased?”

“I never heard tell of his disturbing nobody,” said Tom.  “Just take him off his notions about the ten vargins and their lamps, and the judgment day, and I don’t know a likelier man than old Holden.  In my opinion, he’s a cleverer fellow than Davenport, by a long shot.”

“I don’t believe he’s been caught,” said a man in a pee-jacket, who, from his appearance, was a fisherman.  “I passed his island this morning about sunrise, with a boatload of oysters, and I see the old man at his door.”

“Well,” observed Mr. Jenkins, “I hope he isn’t.  It’s enough to make a body puke up his boots to hear Davenport, and I don’t much blame Holden for cutting him short.”

“I heard somebody say,” said Gladding, “that the old man shook his fist right in old Davenport’s face, and told him up and down he was a good for nothing liar.  I want to know if he can sue him, squire?”

“Why, as to that,” answered Miller, who being appealed to on a question of law, conceived it necessary to show his learning, “if a man strikes at me within striking distance, I can sue him for assault, though he shouldn’t touch me.  That I call one of the nice pints of the law.  I decided so myself in the case of Samuel Pond versus Ezekiel Backus.  You see Pond and Backus had a little quarrel about some potatoes Pond sold him, and Pond got mad, and told Backus he lied.  Backus is rather hasty, and doubled up his fist, and put it near Pond’s nose, and insinuated that if he said that again he would knock him down.”  Here the squire paused, and looked round to see what impression he was making on his audience, and the momentary silence was taken advantage of by Gladding to observe: 

“That Pond’s a mean cuss.”

The justice took no further notice of honest Tom’s not very complimentary remark than to cast at him a look of angry surprise, which the other endured with complete indifference.

“So,” continued Squire Miller, “Pond went to Lawyer Tippit, and he brought the suit before me.  Backus pleaded his own case, but he had a fool for a client; the law was all against him, and I had to fine him a dollar and cost.”

“That’s considerable to pay,” exclaimed Tom, “just for skinning such a fellow’s nose as Sam Pond’s (I’ve heard of the case afore), but you ain’t said nothing, squire, about calling a man a liar.”

“Well,” said Squire Miller, “that’s what we call a mute point.  I heard the affirmative and negative argued once by Lawyer Ketchum and Lawyer Tippit.  Lawyer Tippit was the affirmative, and Lawyer Ketchum the negative.  Lawyer Tippit’s principle was in medio pessimus ibis, while Lawyer Ketchum held qui facit per alien facit per se.  They, therefore, couldn’t agree, they were so wide apart, you see.  So they separated without either giving up, though I think Lawyer Tippit had a little the best of the argument.”